Statins reduce cholesterol levels by inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and have a major place in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease. Recent studies have shown anti-infl ammatory properties of statins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-infl ammatory eff ect of simvastatin on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fi brosis in rats. A total of 31 female ...

Chronic periaortitis (CP) is a rare condition, hallmarked by periaortic fi bro-infl ammatory tissue which often causes ureteral obstruction, and encompasses idiopathic retroperitoneal fi brosis and infl ammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (IAAA). CP usually responds to glucocorticoids, but some patients may be steroid-refractory or not tolerate standard glucocorticoid doses. For such cases, vali...

Background: Asthma is a chronic infl ammatory disease that is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness, tissue remodeling, and airway obstruction, and that involves coordinate expression of multiple infl ammatory genes in the lungs. Objective: To evaluate the gene expression pattern in a mouse model of asthma and assess the effect of a new drug, R142571, on the gene expression profi le. Metho...

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreatic tissue associated with little or no fi brosis of the gland. Continued clinical and experimental studies/trials are important for understanding AP pathogenesis and its current treatment approaches. Meng et al. [] contribute to our knowledge on NF-ĸB and cytokines IL- and IL- in experimental AP at  h,  h,  h and  h a...

Hypoxaemia kills. Recently we have shown, in a study of over 50 000 critically ill patients, that mortality rises steadily as the partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) falls below about 11 kPa (80 mm Hg) (Figure 1) [1]. Rats exposed to hypoxic conditions develop a mild infl ammatory response with increased capillary leak and proinfl ammatory cytokine release [2]. Hypoxia increases leukocyt...

investi gated the eff ects of ramipril on oxidative stress and fi brosis in the heart of rat s with adjuvant arthritis. Th e authors concluded that ramipril reversed arthritis scoring and decreased markers of oxidative stress, infl ammation, and tissue fi brosis. Undoubtedly, their fi ndings will promote the attempt to diminish the cardiovascular risk of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) ...

Dear Editor, Obstructive calculous disease of the kidney often results in infectious complications such as pyelonephritis and perinephric abscesses. Renojejunal fi stula formation may occur as the infl ammation becomes chronic. We report one such case and review 4 other cases reported in the literature. A 55-year-old Malay gentleman presented with left-sided pyonephrosis with a concomitant psoa...

On the other hand, an increase in environmental humidity also induced abnormalities in permeability homeostasis [9] . In this issue of Exogenous Dermatology, environmental factors on dry skin are discussed by fi ve distinguished experts (or their groups) in this fi eld: Wertz (this issue) gives an integrated overview of the epidermal barrier function and their regional variations. His contribut...

A ge-related macular disease (AMD) occurs most frequently in people aged 60 years and older and affects the central part of the retina, causing distortion or loss of central vision. The disease is the leading cause of blindness in people aged 60 years and older in the developed world and causes milder visual loss in a much greater number (about 25 percent of people aged 60 years and older in th...

background: low-level laser therapy (lllt) has shown a promising effect in ameliorating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (ra). the aim of this investigation was to compare the early and late antiinfl ammatory effects of lllt and betamethasone in ra. materials and methods: in this animal experimental study, after inducing a model of ra in temporomandibular joint (tmj) of 37 wistar rats using adj...